High Court orders ossification test to ascertain girl’s age

The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered for ossification test to ascertain the age of a girl, who claimed to be a major and unwilling to stay with her foster parents as she was sexually exploited by her father and brother.

The court also directed police to produce her before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Delhi government for her stay till the court receives the test report.

While hearing the girl’s plea seeking protection against her parents, justice Siddharth Mridul in an order said, ‘The petitioner seems to be a minor... In this circumstance, the police is directed to conduct ossification test within three weeks after ensuring constitution of a medical board. Till then, she should be lodged with the CWC.’

The court also sought the test report within four weeks and posted the matter for 5 August.Filing the petition through counsel Akhilesh Singh, the girl claimed her date of birth is 31 May, 1995 but her parents, residents of Baljeet Nagar, had manipulated the date in school.

She stated that when she was five years old, her biological parents had died in Allahabad and her grandfather had handed over her to the couple.Her plea said, ‘From her childhood the petitioner is facing atrocities done by the respondents (father and brother). They have sexually harassed her and upon opposition, she was beaten up and tortured many times.’

Accusing her brother of attempting to rape her on 2 June, the girl contended that she was beaten up by the parents when she had protested.Without informing any of her family members, she had left the house ‘to protect her dignity’, the plea said.